Long Beach woman accused of killing toddler maintains he died in accidental fall

LONG BEACH - A 27-year-old Long Beach woman accused of killing her then-boyfriend's toddler son in 2006 testified in her own defense Thursday and said the child she still loves died from an accidental fall.

Jennifer Marie Garcia was extremely emotional throughout her testimony, particularly when talking about her relationship with the boy and including the moment she described an angel's head necklace embedded with the child's ashes.

"I wear it every day I come to court," she said, wiping away tears. "Because he knows what happened, because he knows the truth."

But Garcia also seemed upset when asked about inconsistencies between her statements in court Thursday versus statements made to 911 operators, paramedics and police at the time of the incident.

She is charged with murder in the death of 2-year-old Landon K., who suffered serious head injuries on Nov. 16, 2006. The toddler was removed from life-support the following day.

Garcia wasn't arrested for the killing until December 2010, following years of investigative work by Long Beach Police Department detectives and Los Angeles County Coroner medical examiners.

At the time of the incident, Garcia told authorities the toddler was playing when he fell down the stairs at the family's apartment complex in the 4400 block of Lakewood Boulevard. Hospital staff and police said the injuries to the child's face did not match up with Garcia's claim that Landon fell backward and landed face up.

Prosecution experts testified bruises on both sides of the child's face were consistent with strike marks by a hand and that bleeding in the child's eyes was likely caused by violent shaking.

Defense experts countered the head and body trauma suffered by the victim could very well have been caused by an accidental fall down a concrete and metal staircase.

On Thursday, Garcia said she, her son and the victim were walking down the stairs on the way to her car when she noticed Landon wasn't holding onto the railing. She said she told the toddler to use the railing, and he turned around and told her "OK."

"And then his feet crossed and he fell backward," she said.

Garcia said she did not see the boy fall all the way because when she reached out to grab him, she lost her balance and fell, skinning her knee.

She recalled screaming for help and calling 911 and she said a neighbor uncrossed the victim's legs at the bottom of the stairs as they waited for paramedics.

Her attorney, Jay Glaser, played a recording of the 911 call, in which she first calls herself the boy's stepmom, then a few minutes later refers to herself as a babysitter. She also told the dispatcher the boy was gasping for air, had blood on his lip and "his face is all bruised."

"It wasn't bruising, it was red. Like where he struck ... the stairs," she said in court Thursday. "I didn't want to the take the time to explain it to the 911 operator."

Later, under cross-examination, she said, "I didn't want to say a red mark because what is the significance of that? ... I didn't know what to call it. I still (don't) know what to call it."

It was one of many issues Deputy District Attorney June Chung asked about, including Garcia's shifting from calling herself the stepmom to babysitter.

Garcia said she was in shock, but she realized she was not the child's legal guardian and became worried paramedics would not take him to the hospital if she did not have proof of his medical insurance.

The defendant, who has opted to have a judge determine her fate rather than a jury, said Landon called her mom and she cared for him the same way she cared for her own son, though she did not discipline him without first talking to the child's father.

She and the boy's dad dated about eight months before they moved in together on Oct. 1, 2006. She said their relationship was somewhat strained after the child's death, then grew stronger by the ordeal before they split up five months later.

She didn't show emotion in front of her boyfriend over the boy's death because "everyone was telling me I had to be strong for him," she testified.